The present Invention relates to a new and distinct cultivar of coneflower that may be grown for use as an ornamental plant in containers and in the garden or landscape. The new cultivar is known botanically as Echinacea purpurea and will be referred to hereinafter by the cultivar name ‘Elton Knight’.
The inventor is the designated holder, at his garden in Shropshire, England, of the United Kingdom National Collection of Echinaceas which includes the majority of the commercially available seed-raised strains and clonal cultivars of the genus. In 1992, the inventor selected two varieties from the Collection with the intention of breeding a valuable new cultivar. First, the inventor selected as the seed parent the variety Echinacea purpurea ‘Rosenelf’ (unpatented) which the inventor has admired for its short compact habit, clean flower color with less inclination to fade and a large central orange cone. Second, the inventor selected as the pollen parent the variety Echinacea purpurea ‘The King’ (unpatented) which is notable for the exceptional branching of its stems so that a whole plant carries a large number of flowers. The inventor hoped to be able to combine the characteristics of the parents into a new cultivar which is short and compact and well branched, leading to a dense display of flowers.
During 1994, the inventor was able to evaluate the plants which he had raised and planted out as seedlings from the seed collected from the cross described above. One plant, which is the subject of the present invention ‘Elton Knight’, was identified and selected as possessing the most attractive combination of the desired characteristics. Since that time, the inventor has maintained ‘Elton Knight’ in his garden and has asexually reproduced ‘Elton Knight’ by division, and has determined that ‘Elton Knight’ is stable and reproduces true to type in successive generations of asexual reproduction.
The inventor has observed ‘Elton Knight’ over time and has determined that it is different from both the parent cultivars and from other cultivars of Echinacea known to the inventor, in the following respects:
The seed parent Echinacea purpurea ‘Rosenelf’ is a short compact variety with flowers borne on single unbranched stems resulting in a very few flowers per plant. The pollen parent, Echinacea purpurea ‘The King’ has many branched stems giving many more flowers on a single plant but is a tall plant which requires staking. In comparison with its parents, ‘Elton Knight’ is both short and compact (approximately one half of the height of ‘The King’) with multi-branched flower stems resulting in a dense display of flowers. ‘Elton Knight’ does not require staking.
A widely grown strain of Echinacea is distributed as Echinacea purpurea, ‘Bressingham hybrids’. The inventor has observed that ‘Elton Knight’ is different from ‘Bressingham hybrids’. ‘Elton Knight’ achieves a height of approximately 60 cm and requires no staking, whereas ‘Bressingham hybrids’ are taller at 100 cm and require staking. ‘Elton Knight’ has horizontal petals which do not droop as the flower matures and ages, whereas ‘Bressingham hybrids’ exhibit the typical drooping petals of Echinacea. The stems of ‘Elton Knight’ are attractive dark purple in color, whereas the stems of ‘Bressingham hybrids’ are green. ‘Elton Knight’ has multi-branched stems with many flowers on each plant compared to ‘Bressingham hybrids’ which carries fewer flowers on single stems.
In conclusion, the inventor considers that ‘Elton Knight’ is a very robust plant whose vibrant magenta flowers are less inclined to fade than the flowers of other Echinaceas known to the inventor. The dark green foliage of ‘Elton Knight’ sets off the flowers well and a mature plant of ‘Elton Knight’ exhibits an interesting mix of new and faded flowers while maintaining its shape. Finally, ‘Elton Knight’ makes a very good cut flower with long-lasting qualities.
Commencing in 2001 and ending in 2003, The Royal Horticultural Society of England carried out evaluations of twenty one cultivars of Echinacea in their invited trial for the purpose of determining if any of the entries should be accorded an Award of Garden Merit. The trials took place at a secure non-public location within the Society's Garden in Wisley, England. The inventor entered ‘Elton Knight’ into these trials and provided the test plants and is satisfied that the test plants were not propagated or distributed to any third party. The plants were evaluated by the Floral Trials sub-committee on eight separate occasions, and ‘Elton Knight’ was unanimously proposed for the Award. Although The Royal Horticultural Society published the results of the Trial during 2004, the first public sale of ‘Elton Knight’ took place on May 4, 2005.